Last Sunday, all five of us took a walk around the neighborhood. The weather was beautiful. The twins were enjoying their first wagon ride of the season, and Isabella, who started out in the wagon, had occupancy of the double stroller all to herself.

For 20 or so blissful minutes, everyone was happy. The twins weren't crying (a rarity in itself) or lunging forward to escape from the stroller (something they do often now, as being contained is not high on their list of enjoyable activities). Isabella was in a good mood, too. And in that brief while, I had a glimpse of our future. Of what being a "normal" family of five might be like in a few years, when we can stop operating in disaster mode.

I really, really want it to be two years from now. I really, really want three-year-old twins and a Kindergartner. I am not wishing away their childhoods, and I know these ages bring with them their own sets of issues, but I am so ready for the baby stage and the never-ending screaming to be over.

My little hellcats are now a year-and-a-half old.

And never has the term hellcats so accurately described their behavior than the past month.

First, RIP, Baby Jail. Luci and Nicholas are no longer content to stay in the gated off family room. This has been the case for months, and I had been springing them from jail quite a bit to let them roam free, but I've reached the point where letting them wander through (read: destroy) the house is easier than listening to the all-day screaming for freedom.

And so Luci and Nicholas are now free, which has meant that I have had to step up my babyproofing efforts. Nicholas is 100% of the time hell-bent on destruction. He is emptying every drawer and cupboard in the kitchen that isn't locked. He is pushing dining room chairs across the floor, upending lamps, and playing in the toilet if I forget to shut the bathroom door. He is not only knocking framed photos off their shelves, he is attempting to open the frames and extract the photos. Just when I think he can't reach or destroy something, he proves me wrong.

Apparently, this is what it's like to have a boy, because while Luci is curious and is into some things she shouldn't be, neither she nor Isabella (when she was a baby) have the level of mischievousness that this one does.

Both babies are heavily into climbing - couches, chairs, stairs, you name it. And this? Gives me heart palpitations. Isabella's chairs for her little table are now on top of the dining room table because the babies are climbing them. All chairs that aren't in use are put away. I don't remember this phase with Isabella. Apparently, I have blocked it out.When they aren't running through the house looking for something to break or jump off of, they are yammering.

Both babies have had the 18-month-old language explosion that Isabella had, although Nicholas is more advanced than Luci. Both babies are pointing to things and calling out their names ("Car!" "Dog!" "Book!").

Nicholas is speaking in two and three-word sentences, including "good boy," "all done," "bye-bye dada" and his favorite being "more pease (please), mama." Oh, and "All Aboard" (as in "The Dinosaur Train"). He will repeat just about any word I ask him to, and he regularly says upwards of about 50 words. If I say, "One," he will say Two." If I say, "Three," he will say, "Four."

And every single time he sees me (or hears me) opening the refrigerator, he yells, "Cup!"

His favorite words include: play, up, down, mama, dada, Baba (Isabella), Elmo, bi-bi (binky), car, bye-bye, shoes, coat, toes, hi, baby, book, door, dog, and cat, no, and probably at least 20 others that I am forgetting because I am way too busy to document every single little thing that he's doing and saying, and please make me feel better that you've let the milestones of your second, third, and fourth children go slightly less recorded than those of your first born, because OMG, I just realized that I wrote down every single one of the words Isabella said at this age. Oh dear.

Luci's language is steadily increasing as well, but she is not as verbal as her brother. Her favorite words are "No!" (and yes, she includes the exclamation point and an accompanying finger wag) and "baby" (which is what she calls her stuffed bunny that's her best buddy). She's also a fan of "up," which she says no fewer than 1,000 times a day, while following me around the house, arms outstretched.

Yes - that is having a boy. Now picture double the amount of destruction, with an elder one, deliberately flouting the rules, in order to get the little one involved in something dangerous and stupid, and you will have a window into *my* life right now. Screaming is big around here too from 4-6pm. My life, begins at 7pm. :)

Ah, life with a boy. Little Elvis was into everything, and whatever he found ended up in his mouth! I remember calling Poison control twice in one week. He climbed up on the toilet to reach into the medicine cabinet and taste some deodorant!I have a feeling Baby Plum will be even more curious.I think your updates are great. I still haven't put 4 or 6 month measurements into Baby Plum's baby book...

Quick Snapshot:

34-year-old writer andmother to a daughterborn in August 2006 followingIVF and girl/boy twins born in October 2008 following FET. Come along as I document the search for my lost intellect. It's a bumpy ride. Consider yourself warned.